August Garrett of Valatsa
Garrett Belthion was the August of Valatsa for much of the second century DR. He was known for his mostly successful efforts to soothe the tension between Valatsa and Dorio. Early life Garrett was the second son of Yorick the Replaced, and since his older brother was a very robust child, Garrett was not expected to become king. Garrett thus directed his interest towards religious pursuits and even the potential of monastic life. His father was generally supportive, although he did not really get to witness Garrett's developing faith, as Garrett was only ten when his father died. Shaken by this, Garrett only went further into the arms of the church as a defense. When he was fourteen, Garrett entered a divinity school in Cabalonvale; four years later, shortly after his graduation, Brutus Burich seized the throne and, under guise of honoring him, exiled Garrett to Valatsa to work there. Augusthood Garrett arrived in Valatsa at the tail end of William Yedv's bloody chokehold on the province; within two years, Yedv had died, and the much more moderate Aberforth Wood was chosen to succeed him. In 152, Valatsa's august, Sebastian Teming, died; this too pleased the Valats, as Teming had been a crony of Yedv's who continued the repression. Garrett was selected by Aberforth Wood as the next august of Valatsa, and Garrett immediately set about restoring some degree of peace to the province. One of his major early moves was removing the Monastery of Arms from urban areas, instead setting only one or two of the monk-warriors in each church in the region. Garrett also stated publicly that he would allow Vazranists to practice if they still paid a tithe to the Heplian church. This gave Garrett quick popularity, which would allow him to have a relatively trouble-free reign. In 168, Daravians loyal to Steppen II began fostering religious tension again in Valatsa. The ringleader of this plot, Castimir Ayarlann of Cadra, even posed as a Valat citizen leading riots and rallies. Garrett and Aberforth, neither of whom were militarily experienced, had trouble with these duties, so Garrett wrote his brother (King Albus II) to have a general sent over. Albus obliged, sending Peter Allistar, a close personal friend from the Kenkori Campaign; Peter was able to put down the rebellions, and he executed Castimir in 175. In 188, Aberforth Wood died, and Garrett grieved much, as the two had worked closely for almost forty years. Garrett applied to replace him, but instead Aberforth was succeeded by Cosimo Nerolier, an aged Sunicar with little attachment to Valatsa, and so Garrett scarcely got to know Cosimo before the Lord Reverend's untimely death five years later. The last years of Garrett's life were under the tenure of Talbot Genivalt. Genivalt saw himself as a great missionary, sending Heplianism across the world, which was at odds with Garrett's more muted philosophy; thus, the two argued often. Garrett's immune system began to falter in his last few years; the consequence of this was that an otherwise minor cold he caught in 199 proved to kill him in a number of weeks. Category:Dorians Category:Belthion Family Category:Religious Figures Category:Heplian Priests